Jay Ratliff needs a friend.
by Luke. on Apr 14, 2010 2:38 AM CDT
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Let's look at the amount of snaps that were played by our Dline last year. We'll start with the DE's;
Igor Olshansky – 593.
Marcus Spears – 482.
Stephen Bowen – 418.
Jason Hatcher – 336.
A healthy mix here. All four got decent playing time and no-one was overworked.
Now for the NT's;
Jay Ratliff – 775.
Junior Siavii – 157.
Those 775 snaps were a career high. Ratliff has 182 more than Dallas' second place Dlineman Olshansky. Siavii has 179 less snaps than Dallas' second last place Dlineman Hatcher.
Folks we need to get someone in here to give the Rat a rest. We need to make a proper investment for a backup NT, someone who can be a contributor not just a big body. Ratliff played way more than any other Dlineman in Dallas, he was 6th in the entire NFL of interior defensive players in workload and it's because the drop-off between him and Saivii is so great that they rarely took him off the field. We can't expect this guy to be our NT on first and second downs and our pass rushing DT on Nickle downs without end year after year. What other NT plays that many snaps? Answer; none.
We all know Rat's a special player and that's why they never take him off the field but wouldn't getting a backup who can actually make plays himself allow us to rest Ratliff a bit more and make him even more effective rushing the passer late in games and late in the year? I think so and I think it should be a high priority in this draft.
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I was extremely surprised
we didn’t get a NT in last years draft. Of course we had Siavii, but most mocks listed DT as one of our most major needs (which of course all Dallas fans knew anyways) but apparently JJ thought Rat could shoulder the entire load. I found that number of snaps Ratliff took shocking honestly, as well as the number that Igor took…did anybody else (who hasn’t seen this data already) realize Igor took 100 more than snaps than Spears?
by Thehomerpimpson on Apr 14, 2010 3:02 AM CDT reply actions
Homer,
I was alarmed when I saw Ratliff’s numbers too, that’s why I thought I’d make a fanpost about it.
Igor’s 100 more snaps then Spears was interesting. But Stephen Bowen having nearly as many snaps as Spears was what really surprised me.
Yeah, true enough
possibly grooming him to start this season? Hmmm..
by Thehomerpimpson on Apr 14, 2010 3:22 AM CDT up reply actions
Expect Spears to be traded during the draft
those numbers tell us that Bowen is already a co-starter and Hatcher isn’t far behind.
by Kansas Cowboy on Apr 14, 2010 6:59 PM CDT up reply actions
Spears and a 2011 Second Rounder
plus change to Ravens for Gaither.
*sighs*
the “mark it down” comment is ridiculous.
Certainly on something that there is no inside information on. Because you want something to happen doesn’t mean it will happen.
Anything said above is purely the opinion of AFB unless said otherwise.
by The Immortal Iron Fist AKA AFB on Apr 16, 2010 12:35 PM CDT up reply actions
Well Excuse Me
It is just an attempt to communicate how strongly I feel that something is up . . . but to say it is based on no information is rather stupid; we know the status of Penn; we know the status of Gaither; we know Dallas chances of landing one of the top tier first round LT in this draft; we know a bit about Free . . . I could go on . . .
It's not just you.
It’s the comment in general.
Anything said above is purely the opinion of AFB unless said otherwise.
by The Immortal Iron Fist AKA AFB on Apr 18, 2010 5:57 PM CDT up reply actions
You Are Hyper-Sensitive
It is that time of year; make predictions . . .what is the big deal?
No way we are getting Gaither.....
They through out the trade rumor to get him to attend offseason workouts…
"Austin made the play, Austin saved the day" Brad Sham
Somebody Will Get Him
Doubt the Ravens will invest in two pro bowl caliber LTs; I think there is a silent bidding war going on among interested teams, such as Dallas, Detroit, Redskins and so forth.
A lot of Bowen's
snaps probably came on the 4 man line in passing situations too, though.
by Mandmeisterx on Apr 14, 2010 11:21 AM CDT up reply actions
Mandmeisterx,
Yeah, they would have. But they also take Olshansky out when they go 4 man line too and yet he had quite a few more snaps than Spears. It leads me to believe that Bowen may have been subbed in for Spears more than usual this year in the base defense as well to get as many snaps as he did.
Just had an idea!
I’ll check the 08 numbers. Well Spears had 541 snaps in 08. That’s 59 less snaps than 09. Bowen had 223 snaps in 08. That’s 195 less than 09. So Bowen has definitely had a decent increase where as Spears has had a slight drop off. The real difference was Chris Canty played 677 snaps because he played all three downs. With Igor only playing 2 that gave Bowen a heap more opportunities in the Nickle like you said (interestingly they gave almost all the extra snaps to Bowen as Hatcher’s numbers were virtually identical 329 – 336).
So I think you’re right, it’s probably mostly an increase in his Nickle reps with a few extra from Spears in the base.
Ive been saying it for 2 years we need a real good NT to back him up...
We are one injury away from disaster. I dont want to hear about Siavii because he just stinks. If anyone recalls we saw less and less of him as the season went on. I think this will be the year we get a NT in the draft. I still like Cody in the 2nd round.
"Austin made the play, Austin saved the day" Brad Sham
I think the difference
between Rat and Siavii isn’t the problem as much as it is between Rat and Hatcher/Bowen. I think if those two were better able to contribute on the 4 man nickle front, that would really lighten Rat’s workload considerably. And the odds of us finding another NT that can rush the passer aren’t great either. I wonder if we consider a 4-3 DT to play in these situations that can get after the QB?
Do we want to reduce or take the Rat off the Nickle?
He’s inside pass rush is what makes him so great.
I’d rather see them grab someone who can spell him a bit more on first and second downs to reduce the number of physically taxing double teams he gets. And help keep him fresher for his pass rushing duties. He’s probably the second best pass rusher the team has.
I think both would be nice
if we could. I just think it’s going to be hard to find someone that plays the run as well as he does too. The guy is incredible. I guess I was just thinking it would be easier to find someone whose specialty was rushing the passer inside, a la Tuck the year they won the SB. Perhaps this is just wishful thinking.
by Mandmeisterx on Apr 14, 2010 8:10 PM CDT up reply actions
I want a guy to spell Rat
on some 1st and 2nd downs
by nicholas.rodriguez on Apr 15, 2010 11:32 AM CDT up reply actions
Auto-rec'd for Truth
nice find Luke, I wasn’t aware of these numbers, and they do raise a red flag.
Junior was out of the NFL for almost four years, so expecting more than a couple of snaps out of him may be unrealistic, but it’s also unrealistic to expect Ratliff to continue at this level without backup.
by One.Cool.Customer on Apr 14, 2010 11:29 AM CDT reply actions
Agree, Nice Data Point
. . . and I would add that Dallas has been a bit weak up the middle. We need someone that looks like Saivii and plays like Rat
Thanks OCC
Ratliff had about 50 snaps a game in 09. Siavii about 10.
In 08, even the average Tank Johnson managed about 23 plays a game to give Rat a bit more of a breather.
After seeing these stats, I think it is definitely a fair point that we need to either find
another NT to take the pressure off Ratliff in the base defense, or another DT to rush the passer in 4-3 situations. I do believe though that it is not necessarily a given that we would have to draft such a player in the early rounds. I definitely think though it is something that should be addressed with our 4th, 6th or 7th round pick.
If I had a nickel for every Super Bowl the Eagles have won, I would have zero nickels.
I agree
this is a draft fairly deep on the DL. There will be some good players who will be able to back-up Rat with our 4th, 6th or 7th round pick. Guys to keep an eye on; Cam Thomas, Linval Joseph, Torrell Troup and Mike Neal. All of those guys are expected to go in round 2-4, and if one of those guys begin to fall Dallas could pick them up. Also look for a guy named Boo Robinson out of Wake Forest as a late round pick or UDFA.
wouldn't it be awesome if Dan Williams slid down to us
Unlikely, but you never know.
In Romo we Trust
Oh please don't get me started on this
Terry, F15 and I would get into a bloodbath.
"Emotion is highly overrated in football. My wife Corky is emotional as hell but can't play football worth a damn."
- John McKay, the first coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
You never know
what will happen on Draft day. I’d be okay with Dan as the pick if he was the highest rated prospect left.
But I definitely hope we bring in some competition for Savii and Dixon, the draft is too deep in d-linemen to not do so. Rat is a smaller guy that he needs breaks, especially as the playoffs near…
People will hate me for this
But I hope they can get Cody out of Alabama. The guy is an immovable object.
Greetings from the Humungus, the Ruler of the Wasteland, the Ayatollah of Rock and Roll-A. I laugh at your puny plans.
If Dallas Lands Cody
. . . they should give him a life time supply of Nutrisystem.
Tony Siragusa was also an immovable pile of disgusting jello.
Who was drafted in the 4th round. I can’t see spending a 1st-rounder on a guy who is the leading candidate to play the title role in the upcoming Blob remake.
And yes while Mound Cody was able to collapse the pocket against SEC competition, the SEC hasn’t been bust-proof when it comes to big nasty defensive linemen: Johnathan Sullivan, Dewayne Robertson, Justin Harrell and recently Glenn Dorsey have hardly lived up to his draft status not to mention our very own Marcus Spears, not a nose guard but a big guy who dominated in the SEC and hasn’t been able to be near a top flight player in the NFL.
Now, with that being said, I wouldn’t mind drafting another SEC tackle Dan Williams but that’s not just an unrealistic draft scenario, it’s impossible as he’ll be drafted in the top half of the first round.
Correction; Siragusa was undrafted.
Don’t know where I got 4th round pick from. Anyhow, I prefer a disruptive monster like Haloti Ngata to a gelatinous role-playing pigman like Terrence Cody; even with dominant nose tackles becoming rarer and rarer.
Didn't he win a SB with Baltimore?
"Emotion is highly overrated in football. My wife Corky is emotional as hell but can't play football worth a damn."
- John McKay, the first coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
yep
They were running a base 4-3 when they won that super bowl too.
Anything said above is purely the opinion of AFB unless said otherwise.
by The Immortal Iron Fist AKA AFB on Apr 15, 2010 11:10 AM CDT up reply actions
Oh, he played his role fine. And to reiterate he was an undrafted mass of humanity.
I suppose he was the right pig in the right pen when he fell on Rich Gannon in the 2001 AFC Title Game. Now Siragusa’s tag team partner Sam Adams was the real force of nature on that defensive line; a 350-pound monster who was active enough to notch 44.5 sacks in his career.
Again, Sam Adams also represents a guy who was very active in his college career at the NTU: Texas A&M.
haha
NTU?
Anything said above is purely the opinion of AFB unless said otherwise.
by The Immortal Iron Fist AKA AFB on Apr 15, 2010 11:55 AM CDT up reply actions
gelatinous role-playing pigman
OMG, LOL – what a turn of the phrase
Great stuff Lukey!
Now THAT is a reason I’m up for a DT in the draft.
Anything said above is purely the opinion of AFB unless said otherwise.
by The Immortal Iron Fist AKA AFB on Apr 15, 2010 11:10 AM CDT reply actions
Its just hard to find the RIGHT guy
to spell Rat, do we go monster space eater or a guy like Rat
by nicholas.rodriguez on Apr 15, 2010 11:35 AM CDT reply actions
In theory that's good.
The problem is finding a guy like Rat is easier said than done.
He’s kind of a freak of nature because as Raf has documented so much, it isn’t his quickness that really makes him so good, its his ridiculously strong hands.
He practically punches the guy off of the line of scrmmage.
Anything said above is purely the opinion of AFB unless said otherwise.
by The Immortal Iron Fist AKA AFB on Apr 15, 2010 11:57 AM CDT up reply actions
A commentators dream,
’Pooh’s in the backfield’
’Pooh’s flying around the field’
‘That ballcarrier had Pooh draped all over him’
etc.
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